Mothers' Grief, Forgiveness, and Posttraumatic Growth After the Loss of a Child.

The aim of this study was to investigate maternal grief after losing a child in relation to forgiveness and posttraumatic growth. A sample of 60 grieving mothers from Slovakia completed the following battery: The Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, a modified version of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. The results showed a negative association between forgiveness and grief and a strong positive association between forgiveness and posttraumatic growth, which was not moderated by the time elapsed since the loss. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 mothers. The data were analyzed through Consensual Qualitative Research to gain deeper understanding of forgiveness and posttraumatic growth experiences after the loss of a child. Categories and subcategories are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]